Alex Karras once punched out a horse as Mongo in "Blazing Saddles." He showed his softer side as papa George Papadopolis to Emmanuel Lewis in "Webster." (AP Photo)

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Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt the Stilt's most memorable movie role was Bombaata in "Conan The Destroyer" (playing opposite Ahnold). (AP Photo)

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Chuck Connors

He was drafted by the Bears, was part of the Celtics and played for the Dodgers, but Chuck Connors was best known as the TV sharpshooter "The Rifleman." (AP Photo)

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Jim Brown

Jim Brown is the greatest football player ever, but he walked away from the game at age 30 to pursue his Hollywood dreams. After "The Dirty Dozen", however, the highlight may have been a guest appearance on "CHiPs". (AP Photo)

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Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bruce Lee

Well before Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker got together, Abdul-Jabbar and Lee formed one bad mutha movie duo in "The Game of Death." We like to remember Kareem more for his hilarious turn as Roger Murdock in "Airplane!" (AP Photo)

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Mark Harmon

From UCLA to NCIS: Mark Harmon's father Tom won the Heisman at Michigan, while son settled for Bruins quarterback. Everyone watches Gibbs, but we can't stop watching "Summer School" whenever it's on basic cable.

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Fred Williamson

Please "Hammer" don't hurt 'em. Williams, the former NFL defensive standout, took his martial arts moves from the gridiron to the silver screen as one of the biggest stars of "blaxploitation" films in the 1970s.

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Fred Dryer

The former NFL end was one fourth of the Rams' Fearsome Foursome defensive line before starring in NBC's hit police action drama "Hunter". (Victoria Arocho/AP)

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Michael Strahan

Michael Strahan just went 'Live' with Kelly Ripa and will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. But he also starred in the sitcom "Brothers" with Darryl 'Chill' Mitchell.

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Terry Crews

Terry Crews had a brief NFL career before developing a strong career as a versatile actor. His most famous role was Julius in "Everybody Hates Chris". He currently stars in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and the new movie "Draft Day."

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Dwayne Johnson

Can you smell what the wrestler formerly known as "The Rock" is cookin'? From comedy to action, Dwayne Johnson is one of Hollywood's most bankable and likable stars. (Jaimie Trueblood/Universal Pictures/AP)

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Joe Namath

He was nicknamed "Broadway Joe", but the charismatic Jets Hall of Fame, Super Bowl-winning quarterback tried out his charm in Hollywood. He had memorable small-screen turns on "The Brady Bunch" and "Here's Lucy." (AP Photo)

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Rosie Grier

A Pro Bowl defensive tackle in the NFL, Grier found a good second career as an entertainer, appearing on shows such as "I Dream Of Jeannie" and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."

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Merlin Olsen

Merlin Olsen was a Pro Football Hall of Famer with a strong transition game to actor, thanks to benefactor Michael Landon. Olsen's credits included "Little House On The Prairie" and"Father Murphy". (Wally Fong/AP)

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Ray Allen

We know Ray Allen does have game, as the NBA's most venerable 3-point shooter. But to Denzel Washington, he'll always be young Jesus Shuttlesworth in "He Got Game."

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Arian Foster

The reviews are in: Arian Foster is convincing playing a younger running back prospect in the upcoming movie "Draft Day." (Jay Biggerstaff/TUSP/AP)

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Arnold Schwarzenegger

Yes, bodybuilding is a sport, which made Ahnold one of the world's most "pumped up" athletes. If you say you've never seen one of the Governator's movies, check your "Total Recall", because that's a pack of "True Lies." (AP Photo)

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Bruce Jenner

We knew Jenner, the gold-winning Olympic decathlete, had to do some serious acting to pretend he could "keep up" with the Kardashian women, but the former Wheaties box star had plenty of other minor TV appearances.

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Shaquille O'Neal

"Shazaam". "Blue Chips". "Steel." With performances like those, we're just waiting for him to be dubbed Sir Shaq. Our favorite performance, however, was when he got tripped by Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

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Gheorghe Muresan

Billy Crystal couldn't get enough of co-starring with European big men after Andre The Giant and "The Princess Bride." So he thought it would be funny to have the 7-7 Muresan share screen time with him in "My Giant." He was wrong.

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Brian Bosworth

It doesn't get any worse than "The Boz" in "Stone Cold."

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Joel McHale

Before McHale started getting smarmy on "The Soup" and become an active member of "Community", he walked on as a tight end for the University of Washington Huskies. He's also happy that his Seattle Seahawks just won the Super Bowl.

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Dennis Rodman

"Double Team" and "Simon Sez" are among his IMDB highlights. He was less convincing acting as a bride and an irrelevant diplomat in North Korea.

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Terry Bradshaw

Bradshaw rocked it in "The Cannonball Run", but some (everyone) might say we saw a little too much of him in "Failure To Launch" as Matthew McConaughey's body-baring dad.

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John Matuszak

Matuszak, the Herculean former Raiders defensive end, is best known for playing the deformed Sloth in "The Goonies." (George Rose/Getty Images)

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Howie Long

Long, the Raiders Hall of Fame defensive tackle, was a henchman in "Broken Arrow" and went action hero in "Firestorm." We can only hope sons Chris and Kyle follow the same path.

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Bubba Smith

The "Police Academy" movies wouldn't be the same without Smith, a two-time Pro Bowl defensive end, playing the towering role of Hightower. (Warner Bros./AP.)

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Carl Weathers

From Apollo Creed in "Rocky" to Jericho "Action Jackson", Weathers was a much better actor than pro football player. Just ask Tobias Funke, par exemple.

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Bob Uecker

"Streak on the china...never mattered before" until the Ueck starred as George Owens in "Mr. Belvedere." We also like how he was "just a bit outside" his usual broadcaster's box in "Major League". (Morry Gash/AP)

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Rick Fox

Using his L.A. connections as a world champion Laker (plus his marriage to Vanessa L. Williams), Fox tried to translate his movie-star looks to Hollywood. He can only hope to be a Canadian sensation a la Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)